EU considering regulating airport charges

One of the stumbling blocks faced by low-cost airlines wanting to start flying to Malta could soon be removed by the European Commission.

Sources told The Times the EU is considering whether to regulate airport charges in order to make airports more competitive.

The issue was brought up last week during a meeting in Brussels between EU Transport Commissioner Jacques Barrot and airline representatives.

Although no public reference was made to airport charges, Mr Barrot said he would first like to get the benefit of the expertise and viewpoints of the industry before drawing any conclusions on how the EU can boost the competitiveness of its aviation industry.

The European airline industry has, over the past years, been pressing for regulation.

The Association of European Airlines (AEA), of which Air Malta is a member, has called on the Commission to tackle airport capacity and "current practices of airport charging" in a way that benefits all partners in the value chain.

AEA's secretary general Ulrich Schulte-Strathaus said that airport charges have increased way above national inflation rates in Europe and that fees and charges at Europe's major airports went up irrespective of whether the member state was in an economic downturn or not.

Mr Schulte-Strathaus suggested that the European Commission should find regulatory ways of encouraging airports and airlines in Europe to develop system partnerships by agreeing on the way in which airline requirements could best be met by airports. The Commission could foresee an economic regulator to impose a cap on airport fee increases, he said.

The Commission could also develop key performance indicators which could be implemented at a local level to determine how the quality of ground handling operators should be measured.

Airport owners and operators are vehemently opposing regulation. They argue that airlines should also bear the cost of improvements to fund new terminals and runways.